CBC’s getting a little Ukrainian!

The good old CBC, our national public broadcaster. While it’s under constant attack from the right (for the benefit of its rival Quebecor and Sun News over French-language markets and beyond), it’s one of our only real Canadian culture outlets (when was the last time the private TV networks like Global or CTV aired a Canadian show in prime time?). In parliament and editorials on TV and radio, all you hear about the CBC is what a drain of tax payers money it is and the scary ‘1 Billion dollars’ it commands. But in reality that investment almost quadruples what it puts back into our economy and only costs Canadians $34 a year – a fraction of what other public broadcasters such as in Britain or Australia cost. Luckily the majority of Canadians favour the CBC, and it has been charging ahead into the digital realm even in the face of drastic budget cutbacks from the Harper government.

Today CBC launched its new free digital music service that allows users to listen, share and purchase Canadian music. Browsing through, I was happy to see artists from its youth/alternative online station Radio 3 – which includes up and coming Ukrainian bands sicj as Ukrainia, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Klooch and Zirka. And for all the readers of my site, I’ve compiled a list of their songs on one convenient playlist! I hope you enjoy it 😉

For those with the specialty TV channel CBC Bold, it has picked up a show that ran multiple years on the Natives’  APTN network called ‘Mixed Blessings‘. It’s about a Ukrainian man marrying a Cree woman and having their families live under the same roof a-la the Brady Bunch but in Fort Mac, Alberta. The show airs a few times a day except for Tuesdays and Friday.

If you get a chance, do give these a try and let me know what you think about them in the comments 🙂

Edit: Since I’m posting about the CBC, perhaps you would like to know if any of the staff are Ukrainian… well some are!

The above picture of the varenyky done up as the CBC logo is courtesy of radio host and producer David Shumka.

If you ever watched the show Being Erica that wrapped up this winter, you’d be happy to know the lovely star Erica Karpluk is of Ukrainian descent. The show, while not currently airing on TV right now can be seen on its CBC page as well as on NetFlix (which is an awesome service that you should definitely try!).

And if you’re into cooking, the host of Best Recipes Ever, Kelly Osmond is also of Ukrainian descent. Her parents owned a Ukrainian deli and catering business in Mississauga

Stolen Taras Shevchenko statue returned after 10 years [Article]

A modern day miracle happened this week as the Taras Shevchenko bronze statue that was stolen 10 years ago in Oakville has been successfully recovered:

A police investigation led nowhere and a $10,000 no-questions-asked reward went unclaimed.

As the years passed, the statue’s owners — the few volunteers who run the Taras H. Shevchenko Museum and Memorial Park Foundation on Bloor St. W. — had lost hope of ever again seeing the statue, worth an estimated $25,000.

But a remarkable coincidence, 10 years after the fact, has led to an unlikely reunion.

In November, the foundation received an email from a Hamilton antique dealer inquiring as to their interest in a statue he was trying to sell.

They opened the attached picture and there he was: Shevchenko, seated and scowling, as he had in Oakville’s Palermo Park for more than 50 years.

Three of the foundation’s staff excitedly drove to Hamilton to meet the dealer, Dan Rotko, and to see the statue with their own eyes.

“After 10 years, I couldn’t believe it!” recalls Bill Harasym, the foundation’s 87-year-old vice-president. “You could knock us over with a pin. . . . . It was like meeting an old friend again.”

Harasym and the other staff did not immediately reveal to Rotko they were the rightful owners — trying to learn more about how he had obtained the statue.

Rotko bought it a year earlier from a collector, who had picked it up at a flea market around the time it was stolen. Neither Rotko nor the other collector had any idea of its ill-gotten past.
RHarasym handed Rotko a cheque for $2,500, and explained to him how the statue was stolen.

otko couldn’t believe it. He refused the foundation’s money and said he is keeping the cheque as “a memento” of the fateful encounter.

“It was meant to be,” said Rotko, who is Ukrainian himself. “Call it fate or whatever . . . it’s a great coincidence that I get it and send them an email of the item that was stolen.”

Rotko stumbled upon the foundation’s website as he searched online for prospective buyers in the area.

When he described the story to his mother, Rotko said she told him she used to take him to the park to see the statue when he was a child. “She told me, ‘Don’t you dare cash that cheque!’ ”

The statue was a gift from the sculptor, Ivan Honchar, to Ukrainian-Canadians in 1951 to mark the 60th anniversary of the first wave of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.

It was only the first Shevchenko statue to be stolen from the foundation. A second, much larger statue was stolen from the same park in 2006. Two men were charged with theft, and the head of the statue was recovered (it’s currently on display in the Shevchenko museum). The bulk of the statue is believed to have been melted down or broken up and sold for its copper.

Read the rest of the article

The statue will be re-presented to the public at the Shevchenko museum (1614 Bloor St. W.) on March 9th (Shevchenko’s birth)

King of the Kovbasa, only in the Praries (hilarious video!)

Here’s something you’d only see in Saskatoon, the ‘Paris of the Praries’:

Kovbasa makers from Saskatoon and surrounding area will again go head-to-head on Feb. 9 in a taste-testing competition/party that celebrates local food purveyors and Saskatchewan’s Ukrainian history.

(It) welcomes experienced kovbasa tasters and those unfamiliar with the traditional sausage. Everyone will have a good time, she said.

“When you get a group of Ukrainians and wannabe Ukrainians together, you can’t help but have fun,” she said. “If I were you, I’d wear your ‘forgive-me’ pants.”

The event is also picking up a lot of attention online, with a video going viral of the Global Saskatoon news flubbing the announcement with hilarious results:

The event will also feature the Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble, and tickets are $25. It starts 7pm this Thursday Feb. 9th at Prairieland Park - 503 Ruth Street West, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

 

Mayor Rob Ford compares rival councillors to Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin [Article]

Rob Ford’s mouth has landed him in trouble again. This time, the mayor likened five political rivals on council to dictator Joseph Stalin.

Speaking on the John Oakley show, Ford told the AM640 host that certain councillors are “two-steps left of Joe Stalin.”

When asked his thoughts on being compared to a man who killed twice as many people as Adolf Hitler, Matlow shook his head and said: “Nah. I’ll leave it.”

Read the rest of the article

Another day in the life of Toronto’s right-wing mayor Rob Ford, who’s gone on similar tirades against the homeless, homosexuals, cyclists and Asians.

What was also disappointing to read were the newspaper’s descriptions of the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin’s crimes that were rife with errors:

Stalin ruled Russia’s Soviet Union for a quarter of a century. His push for rapid industrialization, state-run agriculture, and political ruthlessness lead to the deaths of millions. Under Stalin, thousands of his political enemies were executed and millions were sent to forced labour camps.

Toronto Star

The USSR is not Russia, but was rather made up of 15 Soviet Republics during its reign of terror:

Historians believe millions of Russians were executed or starved to death under the Russian dictator’s rule.

The Globe and Mail

Millions of non-Russians in the Soviet Union were murdered under Stalin as well. A notable example of course being the 7-10 million Ukrainians during the Holodomor in 1932-33.

The right-leaning media outlets in Toronto like the Toronto Sun and Newstalk 1010 didn’t even bother to provide any background to who Joseph Stalin was, presumably because of their special relationship with the mayor. Sadly, comparing trivial politics to the dictatorship has been occurring more and more recently.

An introduction to the Epiphany (Yordan)

Yordan (Epiphany) – January 19th

The final day of the Christmas season and one of the greatest feasts of the Eastern Church (celebrated since the second century) is Epiphany or Yordan. It commemorates the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan by St. John the Baptist when God appeared in the three Persons. As Jesus was standing in the water, the Holy Ghost in the appearance of a dove was seen above Him, while the voice of God the Father was heard to say, "This is my beloved Son in Whom l am well pleased!"

On this day, it is the custom to bless water— a river, a lake, or the sea. or now in modern churches, a vessel of water — in a great ceremony including a procession with the carrying of banners and the cross. In Ukraine and sometimes in communities in the U.S. and Canada where Ukrainians had settled, this blessing of water was held outside at a local body of water such as a river or lake. The men of the community would build a large cross of ice blocks near where the water was blessed and dyed it red with beet kvas (a fermented beet juice). The incensing of the water by the priest signifies the descent of the Holy Ghost to Christ during His baptism. During the ceremony, three special candles are immersed in the water; this is to remind us that through Christ’s baptism our sins are destroyed and forgiven. After the ceremony, the people take some of the blessed holy water to keep in their homes during the coming year.

After the meal on Epiphany Eve, the Christmas tree would be taken down and the didukh would have been carried out and burned in the orchard or pasture.

 

The Blessing of the Home

It is the custom on Epiphany after the blessing of the water or in the days following this feast, for the priest to visit his parishioners to their home with holy water. In some areas, such as when distances visiting all the homes difficult, the father of the family may be the omwho blesses the home.

The home is tidied and prepared in advance for this visit, for it would not be right to not have the home in order. When the priest comes, he is accompanied by one of the family the oldest or the youngest through the house. While he sprinkles the rooms with Holy \X/art-r blessed on Yorclan, the priest prays that the home is kept a place of love and security for the family that lives there and that the family he protected from evil of body and soul and be given abundantly of Godk goodness health, hope, and happiness, courage and confidence, awareness and assurance of His lasting Rove and presence.

This ceremony of the blessing of the home signifies the new beginning of both the new year and of baptism when the soul is cleansed.

 

The Feast of St. ]ohn the Baptist – January 20th

This feast is another synaxis, or day commemorating one associated with the feast of the previous day, as St. ]ohn the Baptist was present when Christ was at the river Jordan. On this day, the kolach which was on the table throughout the days between Christmas Eve and Yordan was taken out at daylight by the father and fed to the cattle to "last them until the new bread."

Thus ends the holy clays of the Christmas season. Following this time, there is a new period of marriages, up until the beginning ofLent and the greatest holy day of all, Easter.

Taken from ‘Ukrainian Christmas – Traditions, Folk Customs, and Recipes’ by Mary Ann Woloch Vaughn

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